Keyblade Online
by I Am Me-Nobody Else
Summary: Roxas was always a loner, choosing to cut his ties with people before they got too personal. Even still, it pained him to let her go, knowing that he may never see her again. But… he had no choice, right? He had to survive. Survive and get stronger. "But… what now? What do I do now that I'm the strongest? What purpose do I serve?" KH/SAO crossover, RokuNami, no characters from SAO.
1. Link Start!

Keyblade Online

Chapter One: Link Start!

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, I decided to combine my two favorite fandoms into one! I can't believe that there are only three other Kingdom Hearts/Sword Art Online crossovers! It's madness!**

**So yeah, this is my contribution to both worlds!**

**See ya at the bottom!**

* * *

"All right, it's time for this week's episode of MMO stream!"

As I heard the episode platy in the background, I began making the final preparations for my first «Full Dive» into the official release of «Keyblade Online», or KBO.

I plugged my «Nerve Gear» into the wall, loaded my copy of the game into it, and then… waited.

_Man, I still can't believe that it's already the day of the official launch. I was really lucky to get a slot in the beta, since it allowed me to pre-order the official release._

For the first time in over a month, I smiled.

_This is gonna be fun._

With one minute until the official launch, I put the «Nerve Gear» on my head, remembering the clock on the inside that would tell me when it was time to start.

_12:59_

_Come on, come on…!_

And then, finally…

_13:00_

"Link Start!"

Suddenly, my vision turned white, and lines of all colors streaked across my field of vision until they were all behind me. Then, circles with the English words for the five senses came up into my field of vision one by one, confirming that I could use the senses in the game. Once they were all finished confirming, they scrolled off the screen, and a language bar appeared.

I confirmed the play language as Japanese, and a login screen appeared. I mentally entered my username and password, and a screen showed up.

* * *

_Character Creation_

_Your beta test data is still available._

_Would you like to use it?_

_Roxas (M)_

_Yes/No_

* * *

I mentally chose yes, and then then a gray screen appeared with the English words, "Welcome to Keyblade Online!" in the middle. My vision moved past this screen, and pillars of blue light that formed a tunnel made their way past my field of vision. Then, the blue light turned into polygons that scattered, revealing the beautiful blue "sky" of the first world, the «Destiny Islands».

"Hello, worlds! It's good to be back!"

As soon as I finished talking, I heard someone calling to me.

"Hey! You there!"

I turned towards the voice, finding a man with blond hair and a muscular figure. In short, he looked like a ridiculously handsome anime protagonist.

_Still, it's only his avatar._

"What is it?"

"You just said, 'it's good to be _back_'. Does that mean you're from the beta?"

_Wow, this guy's perceptive._

"Uh, yeah."

"Do you think you could show me around?"

I sighed, preparing to turn him down.

"Come on, please!"

I sighed again, giving in to his overstated begging expression. "All right, but there isn't really much to do in the «Destiny Islands». The real fun starts in the next world. I guess I can help you learn to use the Keyblade properly for when you need to fight «Heartless»."

"Sweet! My name's Nami, by the way."

"That's a feminine name, but I won't judge. I'm Roxas."

* * *

As we walked onto the farthest island away from the main island via the «Connector Bridge», I scanned the island for other players. Finding none, I turned around to face Nami.

"All right. Since there aren't any «Heartless» in this world, you'll have to fight me in a one-on-one duel."

"What?!" Nami shouted. "Me?! Fight a beta-tester?! No way!"

"Relax, man. I'll only block and dodge, so you don't have to worry. I'll set it up as a «First Strike Mode» with a time-limit of five minutes. That should give you enough time to get the hang of things."

I opened my menu, went under the «Duel» sub-window, messed with the configurations and sent him a duel invitation.

I could see him making the motions to accept, despite my inability to see his menu.

Once he presumably hit accept, a clock appeared. It counted down, and just before it hit zero, he smirked.

_He's pretty confident in himself, it seems._

Five minutes later, I said, "I stand corrected. You haven't got the hang of it at all."

"Well… you're just too fast!" Nami retorted, out of breath.

"No, that's not it," I said. "I'm moving slowly enough that if you engage in the Keyblade's auto-direct mode, you should be able to hit me. Wait a second… you weren't doing that, were you? Do you even know _how_?"

"No, I don't even know what that is!"

I sighed. "All right, let's set up another duel. This time, I'll be the one attacking so I can show you what to do."

"A-all right…"

I sent another duel invitation, this time changing the «First Strike Mode» to «Half Kill Mode».

"Why would you use that mode?" Nami asked hesitantly.

"We can't feel pain in this game. Plus, we're both level one, and so are our Keyblades, so we have the same stats. The only difference here is skill. That said, I chose a speed-type Keyblade, so I'll be slightly faster and I'll have a higher crit rate, but I'll have lower attack strength. You chose a magic-type Keyblade, so your magic attacks will be stronger once you finally unlock them. That takes a while, though."

"How long?"

"Level five."

"Oh."

"Well, whenever you accept the duel invitation, I'll be able to start teaching you," I said, tapping my foot impatiently.

"R-right."

He accepted, and the clock counted down.

This time, just before the clock hit zero, _I _was the one to smirk. Then, the buzzer sounded.

I ran at him, and just before I got to him, I put my Keyblade parallel to the ground and perpendicular to my body.

"See this position?" I asked rhetorically, knowing that his eyes were already on me. "Put your Keyblade in this position to engage in the auto-direct mode."

"All right!" Nami shouted, mirroring my movements.

I relaxed, saying, "All right, keep it there for a few seconds, and you should feel the Keyblade grow slightly warm. Once that warmth stops increasing, it's done, and you can start attacking. When you do, the system will direct your attacks towards me automatically."

"Right!"

He stayed in the same position, and soon enough, I could see a faint glow coming from his «Kingdom Key Type M».

"Good, now attack me!"

He nodded, letting out a small battle cry. "HA!"

He began with a dash, then started swinging at me relentlessly. Even still, I blocked every attack with my «Kingdom Key Type S».

After a particularly powerful strike, I jumped back.

"I thought you said you would be the one attacking me," Nami said with a smirk. "Am I too much for you?"

"In your dreams, maybe!" I said, giving him a smirk of my own.

I immediately charged at him, delivering strike after strike, though Nami somehow managed to block a lot of them. When I finished, he had a little under three fourths of his HP.

"Whoa, that was amazing! Wait, you didn't engage in that auto-direct thing!" Nami pointed out.

"I was skilled in blade combat even before I got into the beta, so I know how to hit an enemy without the auto-direct. Besides, I feel more free when I'm in complete control of where I'm swinging."

"I see…"

"Well, I'd say that you've got the basics down, so why don't we get going to the next world?" I suggested.

"Of course! But…" Nami trailed off, adopting a sad look for the first time since I met him. "I'm really hungry. I'm going to log out. Oh, but I'll meet up with you later if you want! I can introduce you to some friends of mine that bought the game with me."

I looked down, a sad expression on my face.

"I see… you're a solo player, aren't you?"

"Yeah… sorry…"

"Don't worry about it! I'll introduce you some other time. Then you can get back to soloing. But… promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"Promise me that we'll still party up every once in a while. Just the two of us. After all, you still have some stuff to teach me!"

_Well, if it's just him…_

"Sure. Just us. Thanks for understanding."

"No problem! I should be the one thanking you, actually. You helped me learn how to play the game!"

"No problem."

"Well… I'll log out now."

Nami looked down, opening his menu and—

"Hey, Roxas? Total newb question, but how do I log out?"

"… Huh? The log out button should be in the main menu. It's pretty hard to miss."

"No, it's not there. Why don't you check yours and see if it's just a bug for me?" Nami suggested.

I opened my main menu, scrolling down to the bottom. My eyes widened at what I saw. "It's… blank?"

"See, I told you!"

"Well, it looks like we're stuck here until this bug is fixed," I said darkly.

"You mean that there's no emergency log out function?!"

"No, going through the menu is the only way."

"No! This can't be happening!" Nami shouted.

"Calm down," I said in a steely voice. "We should think about this calmly. Have you tried contacting the GM?"

"Yeah, right before I asked you to check. He's not answering, though."

Then, I found myself being surrounded in a blue light. I looked over to Nami, who also seemed to be surrounded by the blue light. It intensified until I couldn't see him, and then…

When the light subsided, I found myself in the «Town Square» of the second world, a world known as «Traverse Town».

"What the…?" a familiar voice whispered from beside me.

I quickly turned top Nami. "Hey, are you all right?"

He turned to face me, saying, "I'm fine, but what about you?"

I heard a strange noise coming from below us, sounding eerily familiar to the spawning of a «Heartless». I looked down to find that the ground had turned entirely black. Then, I noticed a bulge in the center of the area, and it was growing fast.

_Wait… the blackness is being drawn towards it!_

True to my thoughts, the blackness on the ground was slowly being drawn towards the bulge, which was growing at an alarming rate.

Once all the blackness had congregated around the shadowy bulge, it began to take shape.

It started to turn into a giant all-black «Heartless» with giant wings and claws, as well as fangs that gleamed in the dim streetlights of «Traverse Town».

When it finished forming, it took to the air.

**"Attention, players. I welcome you… to my universe."**

"What the… hell?" I whispered.

**"My name is Hoshikage Yami. As of this moment, I am the sole person in control of this universe."**

_Hoshikage… Yami?!_

I had seen that name in the news hundreds of times. He was one of the most influential people in all fields of technology ever to have existed. He created the «Nerve Gear». He created a complete virtual reality environment— «Keyblade Online», that is.

**"I assume that most of you have already noticed the logout button missing from the main menu. However, this is not a glitch. No, this is a feature of the game— of «Keyblade Online»."**

_What…?_

"What's he talking about?" Nami asked me.

**"I repeat, this is not a glitch. This is a feature of «Keyblade Online»."**

"A… feature? He must be joking, right? Right?" Nami said, turning to me.

"No… no, I don't think he is. So far, everything he said has made some degree of sense when put into context with what's happening," I said, my voice toneless.

**"You cannot log yourselves out of KBO, and no one on the outside will be able to shut down or remove your «Nerve Gear». Should such an action be attempted… the transmitter inside the «Nerve Gear» will emit a powerful burst of microwave radiation, destroying your brain…**

**"And ending your life."**

People began to say words of disbelief. But I knew… I knew he wasn't lying.

Everything he said was true.

"He's gotta be bluffing, right, Roxas?" Nami asked me.

"He's right, though. The «Nerve Gear's» transmitters emit microwaves to allow us to have control of our bodies here, and those microwaves are just like those of a microwave oven. If the limiter were disabled, it could seriously mess up our brains, most likely killing us."

"Then why don't we just cut the power?"

"Doing that is essentially the same as shutting down the «Nerve Gear», and you remember what he said about that, right? Even if that would've worked, that's prevented by the internal battery that it has."

"But… that's crazy! Messed up! Insane!"

**"Unfortunately, the friends and family members of several players have ignored this warning, and attempted to remove the «Nerve Gear». As a result, two-hundred fifty-six of the original ten thousand players' lives have come to an abrupt… and tragic end."**

_Two-hundred fifty-six people?!_

"No way… I don't believe it!" Nami shouted.

He opened several windows up, showing what appeared to be news reports of the current situation.

**"As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting this incident and the many deaths that have occurred. Thus, you can assume that the danger of your «Nerve Gears» being removed is minimal at best. So you can relax and work hard to clear the game."**

I grit my teeth, trying to hold back a string of swear words.

**"But please do take note of this: there is no longer any method of revival in the game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will permanently be deleted from the system, and at the same time…**

**"The «Nerve Gear» will destroy your brain."**

I gasped. _But I must've died a hundred times in the beta! That's what the point of an RPG is! When you die, you learn from your mistakes and you get better!_

**"There is only one thing you need to do in order to log out of KBO… and that is to clear the game. You are all currently in «Traverse Town», the second world of the game. Make your way to the keyholes of each world and defeat the bosses there to advance to the next world. Defeat the final boss in the five-hundredth world, and you clear the game."**

Nami looked on with disbelief before yelling, "Clear all five hundred worlds?! That's impossible!"

_Even us beta-testers only made it to the twentieth world!_

**"You can find a gift from me in your item storage. Please feel free to check for yourselves."**

Against my better judgment, I went into my inventory to look for the "gift" he promised us. When I found it…

_A «Hand Mirror»? That item wasn't in the beta…_

I pressed the «Make into Object» button, and I found myself staring at the face of my avatar, carefully constructed to look like my father, Sora, in the mirror.

Then, a blue light overtook my vision. When it subsided, I saw my own face… my _real_ face.

Medium-long, spiked up blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a pissed off expression.

When I turned to face Nami, I found him to be a—

_Girl?!_

The girl before me had long, blonde hair, with some of it hanging over her shoulder. She had an average build, with a moderately large bust and blue eyes.

"You're a girl?!" I shouted, though no one's attention wavered from the giant «Heartless» above us.

"Wait, what?!" Nami… or whoever she was… shouted back. She looked into her «Hand Mirror». "But this is what I really look like! How did it get all this data on my body?!"

I began to explain. "The «Nerve Gear» has a high-density scanner built in that could easily create an exact copy of our faces. As for your body structure, do you remember when the «Nerve Gear» had you calibrate it? That's probably how they did it."

"Oh… but why…? Why would he do this?!"

I pointed back to the robe. "I'm sure he'll tell us soon enough."

**"I'm sure you're all wondering… why? Why would Hoshikage Yami, the creator of «Keyblade Online» and the «Nerve Gear», do all of this?**

**"My goal has already been achieved. I wanted to watch over and control a world of my own design. That is why I made «Keyblade Online»."**

I clenched my teeth in rage. "Yami…!"

**"And now, that goal has been fulfilled."**

It took all that I had not to materialize my Keyblade and run at him, slashing with all my power.

**"This ends the tutorial for the official «Keyblade Online» launch. Players…**

**"I wish you the best of luck."**

The giant «Heartless» then dispersed into nothing, leaving all of us, the players, to fend for ourselves.

I looked down at my hands, clenching them into fists.

_This is reality. Hoshikage Yami, the genius who created the «Nerve Gear» and a complete virtual environment. I admired him, so I understand…_

I looked around, seeing the looks of terror and disbelief on the faces of everyone around me.

_Everything he said just now… was the truth! If I die in the game… I die in real life!_

I heard the sound of shattering glass, and I instantly knew that someone had dropped one of the mirrors. Then…

The crowd went ballistic.

Taking advantage of the chaos, I grabbed Nami's arm and started running.

* * *

Once I reached the end of the «Safe Zone» in «Traverse Town», I turned to Nami. "Nami. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to the next world right now. There's no boss in «Traverse Town», so I want you to come with me."

"Huh?"

"If what he said is true, and I think it is, then we've got to train ourselves and our Keyblades up as much as possible in order to survive in this world. The money, EXP, and other resources in an MMORPG are limited. The streets of «Traverse Town» are gonna be hunted clean soon, and I don't feel like fighting with other players over resources. We need to head to the next world and start mob hunting there if we want to avoid that.

"I know all the safe and dangerous paths, so even at level one, I can get us there safely."

Nami looked down, her expression grim "You know, I really would, but… my friends and I went and got this game together. We waited in line for days."

"Then they're probably still in the «Town Square», freaking out like everyone else," I informed her.

"Oh no…!"

_But… I can't take all of them. If even one of them were to die, then the rest of them would undoubtedly blame me for taking them into dangerous territory._

I felt a hand take mine. "Don't worry about us…" Nami whispered.

"What…?"

"I can't ask you to take care of all of us, especially when you're already a solo player. So don't worry about us. Get to the next world. We'll always be in touch if we friend each other."

She went through her menu, and a few seconds later, I got a notification.

* * *

_Namine sent you a friend request_

_Accept/Decline_

* * *

I accepted, saying, "So your in-game name is actually Namine?"

"Yeah. Sorry for not telling you."

"It's all right."

We stood in silence for a few seconds, before I said, "You need to go help your friends."

"Yeah, you're right."

I looked down. "All right… well then, I guess this is where we part. Send me a PM if anything happens."

"Of course!"

"Then… take care. I'll see you, Namine."

With that, I turned around and ran until I reached a crossroad. When I turned back, I didn't see Namine, and I knew that I might never see her again. I felt something warm in my eyes, and my vision blurred. I put a hand to my eyes, wiping warm liquid from my face.

_I'm… crying?_

I turned back around, beginning to run. I ran through the alleyways, past the «Safe Zone», and into the dark streets. I saw a mid-level «Heartless» several meters in front of me, but I didn't stop. Instead, I materialized my Keyblade, putting it in the stance to execute something I didn't tell Namine about: weapon magic.

_I've got this! I can do this! This world can't beat me!_

The weapon skill unleashed itself unto the «Heartless», destroying it in one hit. I didn't even stop when I heard a level-up sound.

_I will survive!_

"HAAAAAAA!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**Anyone who knows the SAO me and knows about my new Kingdom Hearts kick must have known that this was going to happen, am I right?**

**And I know, five hundred worlds?! To be fair, anyone who plays Kingdom Hearts games knows that the worlds aren't usually that big. I don't really think that five hundred is much of an exaggeration, considering that the worlds will probably be cleared faster than the floors in SAO.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think! If you like it, leave a review and tell me why! If you didn't like it, feel free to leave a review telling me what areas I need to work on.**

**Well, it's time! Time for the disclaimers!**

**I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise or any of the characters I use from it, and I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations!**

**See ya!**


	2. One Year, Ninety-Nine Worlds

Keyblade Online

Chapter Two: One Year, Ninety-Nine Worlds

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well, here's chapter two! Hope it doesn't disappoint!**

**So yeah, I'm going to be making use of time-skips every once in a while, just to let you know. This chapter starts out on the… well, you probably already figured out by the title, huh?**

**See ya at the bottom!**

* * *

_"Then… take care. I'll see you, Namine."_

_With that, I turned around and ran until I reached a crossroad. When I turned back, I didn't see Namine, and I knew that I might never see her again. I felt something warm in my eyes, and my vision blurred. I put a hand to my eyes, wiping warm liquid from my face._

**_I'm… crying?_**

_I turned back around, beginning to run. I ran through the alleyways, past the «Safe Zone», and into the dark streets. I saw a mid-level «Heartless» several meters in front of me, but I didn't stop. Instead, I materialized my Keyblade, putting it in the stance to execute something I didn't tell Namine about: weapon magic._

**_I've got this! I can do this! This world can't beat me!_**

_The weapon skill unleashed itself unto the «Heartless», destroying it in one hit. I didn't even stop when I heard a level-up sound._

**_I will survive!_**

_"HAAAAAAA!"_

* * *

About a month into the game, the only world cleared was «Traverse Town», and only because of one player: yours truly.

During that time, just under two thousand players died, leaving us with only eight thousand left. Now, after one year, there are only seven thousand.

The surviving players were split into four categories.

The first consisted of a little over half the surviving players, or four thousand. They were the ones who still wouldn't accept the conditions that Hoshikage Yami had put forth and still waited for outside help.

I understood what they were thinking painfully well. Their real bodies would be lying on a hospital bed, fast asleep. That was reality and this situation was fake. If there was even the smallest discovery, they might be able to get out. Of course, the log out button was gone, but there might be something that the creators of the game might have overlooked…

And outside, the company who ran the game would be trying harder than anyone to save the players. If they could just wait, they might be able to open their eyes, have a teary reunion with their family, and then return to school or work and this would all have been just something to talk about…

It wasn't really unreasonable to think like that. I think I was hoping for the same thing deep inside.

Their plan of action was to wait. They didn't take a single step out of the city and used the money they had been given at the beginning of the game sparingly, buying only the food they needed to get through the day, finding cheap inns to sleep in, and walking around in groups, spending each day without any thought.

Thankfully, the «Safe Zone» of «Traverse Town» was a section that took up forty percent of the third world, so it was large enough to hold a Tokyo district, which meant the four thousand players would have sufficient room to live in.

But no help was coming, no matter long they waited. On some days the sky in each world was not a crystal blue, but covered with grey clouds. Their money couldn't last forever, and they realized that they would have to do something.

The second category consisted of about thirty percent, or two thousand one hundred players. It was a group where all the players worked together. Their leader was the admin of the largest online game info site.

The players who made up this category were split into several groups and shared all of their gains, collected information on the game, and set out to explore areas outside the «Safe Zones» in hopes of finding the «Keyhole» of each world.

This huge group didn't have a name for quite a while, but after all the members received a uniform, somebody gave them the somewhat grim name, «The Army».

The third category consisted of, at an estimate, one thousand players. It was made up of people who had wasted all their Col, but didn't want to make money by fighting monsters.

As a side-note, there were two basic bodily needs in KBO: one was fatigue and the other was hunger.

I understood why fatigue existed. Virtual information and real information were no different to the players' brains. If players became sleepy they could go to an inn and rent a room to sleep in depending on the amount of money they had. If one saved up a lot of money, they could buy a house, but the sum needed wasn't small.

Hunger was a need that many players thought of as strange. Although they didn't really want to imagine what was happening to their bodies in the real world, it was most likely that we were being force-fed nutrients somehow. That meant that the emptiness we felt here had nothing to do with our real bodies.

But if we bought some virtual bread or meat in the game and ate it, the emptiness disappeared and we felt full. There was no way to find out how this strange mechanism worked short of asking a professional in the field of neurology.

So the opposite was true too: the hunger didn't disappear unless we ate something. We most probably wouldn't die if we starved, but the fact that it's a need that's hard to ignore doesn't change. So the players visited the restaurants that the NPCs ran daily and ate some food.

Also, there was no need to excrete waste in the game. As to what was happening in the real world, I didn't even want to think about it.

Well, back to the main point…

The players who had squandered all their money in the beginning and couldn't sleep or eat usually joined the huge organization that I mentioned a while ago, «The Army». This was because they received at least something to eat if they followed the orders from the top.

But there are always those who can't ever cooperate with others however hard they try. The ones who never wanted to join, or got kicked out for causing trouble, used the slums of the «Starting City» as their base and started thieving.

Inside the «Safe Zones», there was protection implemented by the system, so players couldn't hurt each other. But it wasn't like that outside. The stragglers made teams with other stragglers and ambushed other players —which was in many ways much more profitable than hunting monsters— outside the «Safe Zones»

Even then, they never murdered anybody— well, in the first six months, that is.

This group got slowly larger until they reached the aforementioned number of one thousand.

The final, fourth category was, simply said, the rest.

There were around fifty groups created by people who wanted to clear the game but didn't join the huge organization. They numbered around five hundred. We called these groups Guilds, and they had a mobility that «The Army» lacked. Using that mobility, they steadily grew stronger.

Then there were the very few who chose the merchant and craftsman classes. They only numbered about two to three hundred, but they created guilds of their own and started training the skills that they would need to earn the Col they need to get by.

The rest, around one hundred players, were called solo players. This was the group I belonged to.

They were the selfish group who had decided that acting alone would be better for strengthening themselves and simply surviving. If they could use the information they had, they could level up quickly. After they had gained the power to fight against monsters and bandits by themselves, there was truthfully no merit in fighting with other players. If one had the required skills, playing solo was much more effective in getting experience points than party playing.

Of course, there were risks involved. To give an example, if a person was paralyzed and he had party members with him, they'd just cure him and that'd be that. But if the person was playing solo, it could lead straight to death. Actually, in the very beginning, solo players had the highest fatality rate amongst all the players.

But if you had the experience and knowledge to win through all this danger, there was a much better compensation for all this risk, and the beta-testers (including myself) had both of these things.

With this precious information the solo players leveled up at a fierce pace and a huge gap soon opened between them and the rest of the players.

Now, a year and ninety-nine worlds into the game, a total of around seven thousand people remain.

This is how all the players live their lives. This is the current situation of «Keyblade Online».

* * *

_"You were never meant to exist!"_

_"What are you talking about, mommy?" I asked her._

_"You never should've been born! You were only a mistake made from a crazy night!"_

* * *

I woke up in a cheap inn I had rented for the night, sweating profusely.

"That dream…" I whispered. "Why would it come back now, of all times?"

I got up, equipping my clothes that I would be using for the day's exploration.

A black coat with a hood to disguise my identity, black boots, and a black shirt and pants. I had absolutely no metal armor in my ensemble, but I liked it better that way. Even a little bit of metal would slow me down and possibly restrict my movements, and everything about the way I fight relies on speed and mobility.

Having paid the fee for my room up front, I walked out of the inn and into the streets of the ninety-ninth world, «Agrabah».

_The city of thieves… I'd better watch my back. There could be NPC thieves, or «Heartless» that can steal items._

I walked through the streets, looking for my favorite diner and shop, run by one of the only people who would talk to me.

_After all… I'm a—_

"I figured I'd find you if I waited here," someone said, proceeding to tap on my right shoulder.

I turned around swiftly, coming face-to-face with Namine, one of my only friends in this game.

She had long, blonde hair that came down to her mid-back, a cute figure, and wore all-white clothes.

She joined the strongest guild, the «Saving Lights», about three months back, and since becoming second-in-command, she became known as one of the strongest —and fastest— players in the game.

_Of course, I'm still faster._

"What do you want?" I asked coldly.

"That's mean," she said. "I wanted to check on you to make sure you're still alive, since the scouters are close to finding the «Keyhole»."

"I'm on your friends list, you know. You could have checked that."

"W-well, it doesn't matter. You're alive, and that's what's important," Namine said, her cheeks tinged with a light pink color.

"Whatever. So, what did you really come to see me for?" I queried.

"You promised me we'd party every once in a while, remember?"

It was then that I was made painfully aware of the person, presumably her bodyguard, standing next to her.

"Lady Namine, I cannot let you party with such a shady character!" he shouted.

"Shady? Maybe so, but he's probably more than twenty levels higher than you, and I know for a fact that he's maxed out his Keyblade's level."

"Are you implying that this _urchin_ is superior to me, one of the members of the «Saving Lights»?"

_This guy's really asking for me to rough him up._

I grit my teeth, deciding to step in and say, "She made that pretty obvious, man. You'd have to be really dense not to figure it out."

"Why you— wait, I see now! You're one of those no-good «Beaters», aren't you?!"

«Beater». A name combined from the term «Beta-Tester» and the English word "cheater". It was given to the beta players who fought solo, which accounted for ninety percent of all solo players. Thus, every solo player is considered to be a «Beater» until proven otherwise.

"I won't deny it."

The noise he was making had started to attract attention, and people were coming to look at the spectacle of an unknown player being lippy to one of the members of the strongest guild. Soon enough, though, their attention was drawn towards Namine, the «Light Speed Warrior».

"Lady Namine, you can't go with him! Those «Beaters» only care about themselves! He'll turn his back on you at the soonest opportunity!"

Deciding that enough was enough, I said, "Look, I won't abandon her or turn on her. She's an old friend. If you're worried about my strength, then I have no problem in proving it to you."

"You insolent brat!" the man shouted, his already creepy face contorting into one of terrifying rage. The fire in his eyes matched his fiery red eyes perfectly, and I knew I was in for an easy fight.

_He's letting his emotions get the best of him._

"I guess that means we're dueling?" I said, giving him a smirk.

Soon enough, I got a notification, and when I pressed it, a duel invitation appeared in front of me.

* * *

_Accept the Duel?_

_1 VS 1_

_Lea VS Roxas_

_Mode: First Strike_

_Time Limit: None_

* * *

I hit accept, and a timer started to count down.

_59, 58, 57, 56, 55—_

I watched as he materialized his Keyblade.

_It looks like he's wielding the strongest store-bought Keyblade to date, but that particular Keyblade is also easy to break if you hit the right spot._

I materialized my own Keyblade, a special one that only I knew the name of.

«Two Become One».

It was a very powerful Keyblade, though no one knew just how powerful other than me, seeing as no one has seen me fight.

_30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25—_

He got into a stance that was millimeters away from the initial position of a powerful fire-attributed weapon attack I recognized as «Blazing Fury».

_So he deals in weapon magic, huh? Perfect._

I kept my stance relaxed, trying to fool him into thinking I didn't know proper form. As soon as the buzzer sounded, I planned to activate a water-attributed attack to counter, despite my lack of proficiency in the element.

_7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… GO!_

The buzzer sounded, signaling the beginning of the duel.

The man, now known to me as Lea, shifted his position ever-so-slightly so as to start the initial position of his attack.

I shifted my position into the stance of my own attack, putting on a smirk.

We charged at the same time, but he was faster…

Or was he?

I had purposefully activated an attack that increased in speed as time went on, just to put up the façade that he was stronger and faster than me.

When our Keyblades made contact, the shrill sound of metal breaking apart filled the area.

His Keyblade broke in two.

But my attack didn't stop. No, it was part of a two-hit combo, one that first hit the opponent's weapon aside, then spun me around to deliver a blow to his or her back.

And it did.

The buzzer sounded, signifying that I had won the duel. His Keyblade, both the part of it in his hands, and the part of it on the ground, dispersed into particles of light, never to be seen again.

"H-how…? How did a «Beater» like you defeat me, a member of the glorious «Saving Lights»?!"

"I guess I can tell you," I said.

"Your Keyblade is a really powerful one, and if you had hit mine in the right spot, it would've caused enough recoil damage to end the duel. But at the same time, your Keyblade had a vital spot. Since it was so heavily decorated, all I had to do was hit the over-decorated spot with a weapon attack and it would break. The tricky part was figuring out which attack to use, since not all of them would come in at the right angle so they could hit that spot.

"Thinking of that, I chose a water-attributed attack, since the element advantage would widen the breaking area of your blade considerably.

"I decided to choose the attack I did because it was a two-hit combo, which would allow me to break your weapon _and_ end the duel in one attack."

He looked at me, eyes wide.

"As I'm sure you can tell by now, I'm a lot more qualified to guard her than you."

"You…!"

"That's enough, Lea," Namine said coldly. "You can go to the HQ for now."

"But lady Namine, I can't allow you to leave with scum like him!"

_This guy is asking for it._

Namine gave him a cold glare that I didn't think she could even make. "Lea, you have done admirably in your mission as my bodyguard up until now, but I cannot tolerate you disrespecting a person who has not wronged you. You are hereby relieved of your mission as my bodyguard. You are to return to headquarters and await further instruction. Understood?"

Lea's eyes went wide, and then narrowed into slits from which I could feel primal fury leaking. "Yes, lady Namine."

He got out a «Teleport Crystal». "Teleport: world fifty-one, «Saving Lights Headquarters»."

Once he was gone, I turned back to Namine. "Are you sure this is all right?"

"I wouldn't have done it otherwise."

"Well, okay…"

Namine made the motions to open up her menu, and a few seconds later, a notification popped up in front of me.

* * *

_Namine has invited you to join a party_

_Accept/Decline_

* * *

I took a deep breath.

_Why am I so worried? It's not like we're going to fight a «Boss Heartless» by ourselves._

I hit accept.

"Great! Let's go, Roxas!" Namine said happily.

We began walking out of the city, heading towards the «Cave of Wonders».

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well, that's chapter two for you guys! I got this one out pretty fast, huh?**

**To be fair, I modeled some of it off of the Sword Art Online LN volume one, but any diehard fan probably noticed that already.**

**Well, I guess that's about it! Time for the disclaimers!**

**I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise, nor do I own the Sword Art Online light novel series, which, by default, means I don't own any of the things I use from them!**

**See ya!**


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